Also, when brining the pork loin or pork chop, you can substitute 100% of the water with cola, which is pretty classic approach to brining pork.
However, it’s very important to note that you SHOULD NEVER MIX CURING SALT (sodium nitrate or nitrite) with COLA, because it will form a potentially lethal compound. So use regular table salt only.

The Cola warning is a great addition to the safety forum. Would be a good idea to re-post this Brine tutorial in Sauces Rubs and Marinades, probably be seen by more people...JJ

BTW...Regarding Brines...Herbs and spices on the other hand are used specifically to add a secondary, complimentary flavor. This could really be any number of ingredients, but some common examples include thyme, cloves, cinnamon, pepper corns, bay leaf, mace, etc. You can also use aromatics such as onions, carrots, celery, peppers, etc.

The surface of meat works much like a very fine filter or sieve. This means that only the flavor compounds dissolved in the water will actually be able to penetrate the proteins surface and effect its flavor. Using heat to infuse flavors into your brine first and then straining out the ingredients will ensure a more consistent result since some flavors will continue to diffuse into your brine over time.

Mixing nitrite OR nitrate with anything that's too acidic could result in a chemical reaction that produces nitric oxide gas. Nitric oxide gas can be easily inhaled and can be deadly at very low levels.

The Permissible Exposure Limit(PEL) is set at 25 Parts Per MIllion (ppm). That means you can ONLY be exposed to 25 ppm over an 8 hour time period.

The Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) is only 100 ppm. That means if you inhale a lungful of air, and 100 ppm is nitric oxide, you could die.

For reference, 1 ppm is eqivilent to 1 inch out of 15.79 miles! Not very much.

Now that I have the fear factor out of the way, just don't use curing agents in anything with a pH of less than 4.8 (5 is better) and you should be good to go.

I have my job listed as safety guy, but I specialize in toxicology and human interaction to industrial chemistry. Yes, what we use for curing is an industrial chemical... Look em up!